Season of hope

As harvest begins, watermen and biologists are uncertain whether bay's crabs have rebounded

Hines says he doubts whether fisheries regulators can control the catch well enough with such measures. He believes crabs would be better protected by putting major sections of the bay off-limits to crabbing, and by reducing the number of crabbers and the amount of gear they can use.

For its part, Virginia has established a crab sanctuary, closing a vast expanse of water to harvest in the spring when crabs begin spawning in earnest. The state also reduced the number of crab pots its watermen could use, and it might order a further reduction this year if the crabs are not recovering adequately, said Jack Travelstead, Virginia's fisheries director.

Scientists do not agree on the best way to proceed. Miller says a sanctuary makes sense in Virginia, where research has identified crabs' spawning area. Similar closures here would be less effective, he said, because less is known about migration routes.

As he readies his crab pots, Brian Pierce says he can't help but believe this season will be an improvement over last year's. He's been crabbing on his own since 1997, and usually follows the "beautiful swimmers" from the Virginia line to the upper bay and back.

"It's pretty neat, but it's a hard living," he said.

Last fall's early close to the female season "really hurt me bad financially," Pierce said, and he didn't fare much better when he tried fishing for perch instead.

He did recoup a little of his lost crabbing earnings by cleaning old oyster bars, part of the state's work program to help watermen hurt by the crab restrictions.

Even so, he hopes the sacrifices he and other watermen made last year were not in vain.

"I'm hoping it's all right," he said, "for all our sakes."